President Solih gives ratification to Residential Tenancy Act

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Thursday, has given ratification to the Residential Tenancy Act (Act No: 21/2021).

This Act was passed by the Parliament at its 31st sitting of its third session of this year, on October 27.

The aim of this Act is to regularize the sector and to introduce requirements such as a legally prescribed procedure for renting residential properties, rights and obligations of landlords and tenants, protection of security deposits, and enforcement mechanisms to settle disputes related to residential tenancies.

For this purpose, the Act defines the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants of residential properties, establishes minimum standards for residential properties, establishes a procedure for renting residential properties and establishes a mechanism to resolve residential property disputes speedily.

In addition to this, the Act also stipulates the locations to be managed are private transactions in leasing houses for a living and transactions related to establishments assigned to individuals under government housing projects.

Subsequent to the ratification of the Act – it has been gazetted and has come into force.

The ratification of this Act also repeals Section 28 of the Maldivian Land Act (Law No. 1/2002) and all the provisions regarding residential tenancy in the Regulation on Leasing Dwellings and Buildings.